Poked in the back by a companion, the researcher named Sun Yueda immediately snapped back to his senses and hurriedly nodded.
"No problem! P-please, follow me."
With that, he took the lead and headed to the front, stopping at the laboratory entrance.
Lu Zhou did not follow immediately. Instead, he glanced at Senior Brother Qian beside him and said with a smile.
"Want to come along?"
Hearing that, Qian Zhongming smiled.
"Academician Lu is about to show off his skills. Wouldn't it be a pity if I missed it?"
Lu Zhou gave a dry cough.
"I'm not used to this kind of flattery from you."
"How is that flattery?" Qian Zhongming shook his head with a serious expression. "One of the founders of Computational Materials Science, the first scholar to receive a Nobel Prize in this field... I didn't make up those titles."
Thus, the group followed the researcher named Sun Yueda from the laboratory containing the chemical vapor deposition equipment to the upstairs offices where they normally worked.
Standing at the doorway and looking at the uncleaned office, Professor Wang Qingping awkwardly explained things to Lu Zhou from the side.
"Well... we tend to be a little casual while working, so the office is somewhat messy. If you'd told us before coming, we could have cleaned up in advance."
"It's fine. If I stayed home for a few days without going out, my study would be much messier than this. Research isn't performance art. There's no need to fuss over minor details. Just do whatever is most convenient for you."
Seeing that Lu Zhou truly did not mind, Professor Wang Qingping finally realized that he had been overthinking things, making both Academician Lu and the incident at the institute far more complicated than they really were.
Thinking of what